PHILADELPHIA – It is little coincidence that over the past month five teams added wide receivers who are or were once considered elite.

The Eagles did this last week, trading with the Detroit Lions for receiver Golden Tate. That came one week after the Eagles' opponent this Sunday night, the Dallas Cowboys, traded with the Oakland Raiders for Amari Cooper.

In addition, the New England Patriots signed troubled, but talented, wide receiver Josh Gordon, the Houston Texans traded for former Denver Broncos star Demaryius Thomas, and the New Orleans Saints agreed to a deal with Dez Bryant on Wednesday. Bryant, however, might have torn his Achilles in practice Friday. If so, he won't play for the Saints this season.

Bryant, of course, used to be the Cowboys' top receiver, with three 1,200-yard seasons. Thomas has had four such seasons. Tate and Cooper have had multiple 1,000-yard receiving seasons.

For NFL teams, the in-season arms race has shifted to wide receiver. And it seems like the more, the merrier.

As Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz put it, when asked about getting another player on offense: "I love it."

Then he added: "Any time we can add weapons and guys like Golden with big-play capabilities, I think it makes us (have) the potential to be much more explosive. And to keep building trying to find ways to get big plays in and those types of things. I’m always excited any time we can add weapons like that."

Buy Photo

Amari Cooper, shown scoring a touchdown for the Oakland Raiders against the Eagles last Dec. 25, had five catches for 58 yards and a touchdown in his Cowboys' debut last Sunday.(Photo: Jerry Habraken, The News Journal)

The Eagles added Tate to a receiving corps that already includes Alshon Jeffery, Nelson Agholor and tight end Zach Ertz. The Eagles also signed Jordan Matthews, once their leading receiver, earlier in the season.

The Eagles did this rather than addressing needs on the defensive line or in their secondary, or even at running back.

"You need a lot of weapons, for sure," Eagles offensive coordinator Mike Groh said. "You've got to spread people out and kind of make (opponents) choose a little bit in how they want to try to defend you. When you've got a complement on the other side of the field (from Jeffery) that they've always got to be aware of, that makes you a lot harder to defend. We think that Tate's skill set is certainly very complementary to the guys that we already had."

It's easy to see why several teams have adopted this philosophy.

Scoring is at a record high this season, with teams averaging 24.0 points per game. Six quarterbacks are on pace for 5,000 passing yards. That mark has been passed only nine times in NFL history. There have never been more than three 5,000-yard passers in a season, and that was done in 2011.

In addition, exactly half of the 32 teams, including the Eagles, are passing the ball at least 60 percent of the time, according to the website teamrankings.com. Last season, only nine teams threw the ball at least 60 percent of the time.

This is what the Cowboys were looking at when they sent a first-round pick to the Raiders for Cooper. Dallas was throwing the ball just 55.5 percent of the time this season. The Cowboys also rank 29th in passing yards per game, at just 188.4.

All of which helps explain their 3-5 start. The Cowboys released Bryant after last season, then saw star tight end Jason Witten retire.

"Obviously, scoring is important," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said in an understatement. "I think teams have always been interested in playmakers and guys who can help you score points. In our particular case, that was an area that we felt we could upgrade with the addition of a guy like Amari Cooper.

"We’re excited to have him. I’m sure the Eagles are excited to have Golden Tate. These guys can make a difference in ballgames."

CLOSE

Carson Wentz on what it's like adding Golden Tate; and new cornerback Cre'von LeBlanc on joining a new team.
Martin Frank, The News Journal

Tate and the Steelers' Antonio Brown are the only wide receivers with at least 90 receptions in each of the last four seasons. Tate is close to maintaining that pace this season.

The Eagles have never had a player with more than 90 receptions in their history. Brian Westbrook had 90 in 2007. They have only had eight receivers with more than 80 receptions in a season. This season, Tate, Agholor and Zach Ertz are on pace to surpass 80 receptions.

"When you look at our offense, the more dynamic pieces you have for Carson, our offense has the potential to be really good," Ertz said. "I think everyone understands that no one is going to go out there and have 15 catches every week. There are going to be weeks where I had 10 catches, then (against Jacksonville on Oct. 28) I had four catches. As long as we win, that’s all that matters."

Buy Photo

Eagles tight end Zach Ertz is on pace for 122 receptions this season, which would shatter the team record of 90 set by Brian Westbrook in 2007.(Photo: Jerry Habraken, The News Journal)

Tate's strength is yards after the catch. Of his 1,003 yards receiving last season, 639 yards came after the catch. Tate led all NFL receivers in that category last season, far outdistancing Jarvis Landry, who was second with 511.

Tate was asked if he can make a difference for the Eagles, who rank only 21st in points scored per game, averaging 22.3. Last season, the Eagles were second in the league, averaging 28.6 points.

"I hope so," Tate said. "I think it’s a collective effort ... Just looking at our roster and the offense, I think it’s going to be hard to guard us. I love the creativity of the play-calling here. I’m excited about that.

That, of course, is the goal, especially in trying to beat NFC powers like the Rams and the Saints. The Rams, with 299 points this season, have 121 more than the Eagles. The Rams have played one more game. The Saints, in the same amount of games, have scored 101 more points than the Eagles.

The Kansas City Chiefs, in one more game than the Eagles, have 327 points, 149 more.

In addition, of the top 10 players in yards receiving this season, eight of them play for teams with .500 records or better. Five of the top 10 play for three teams with a combined record of 23-3 – the Rams (8-1) with Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods, the Chiefs (8-1) with Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce, and the Saints (7-1) with Michael Thomas.

Clearly, this is why the Eagles looked to add on offense. Washington, for example, traded for safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and lost 38-14 to the Atlanta Falcons in Clinton-Dix's debut.

The Falcons, of course, have Julio Jones, who is second in the NFL in receiving yards with 933. Both he and Minnesota's Adam Thielen, with 947 yards, could challenge Calvin Johnson's record of 1,964 yards, set in 2012 with the Detroit Lions.

"We look at all the positions, obviously," Eagles coach Doug Pederson said. "You try to see if there's a (defensive back) out there. You maybe see if there's another pass rusher out there and then what are you giving up as a team. That's the other thing you've got to concern yourself about ... Then we have to look at it as coaches. How are we going to implement this guy at any position? (Tate) adds depth. He adds value. We're excited to get him in here. It's exciting for him, a little change of scenery, and we'll see how it goes."

Posted!

A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

Buy Photo

Students at George Read Middle School got a chance to meet and get autographs from Eagles running back Wendell Smallwood, who played football for Red Lion Christian School, on Tuesday after he spoke about making good choices. Jennifer Corbett, The News Journal

Students at George Read Middle School got a chance to meet and get autographs from Eagles running back Wendell Smallwood, who played football for Red Lion Christian School, on Tuesday after he spoke about making good choices. Jennifer Corbett, The News Journal

Mi'Shaun Moore, 13, an eighth grader at George Read Middle School watches as he gets an autographs from Eagles running back Wendell Smallwood, who played football for Red Lion Christian School, on Tuesday, after he spoke to his classmates about making good choices. Jennifer Corbett, The News Journal

Students and faculty at George Read Middle School got a chance to meet and get autographs from Eagles running back Wendell Smallwood, who played football for Red Lion Christian School, on Tuesday, after he spoke about making good choices. Jennifer Corbett, The News Journal

Students and faculty at George Read Middle School got a chance to meet and get autographs from Eagles running back Wendell Smallwood, who played football for Red Lion Christian School, on Tuesday, after he spoke about making good choices. Jennifer Corbett, The News Journal

Faculty at George Read Middle School take photographs of students as they got a chance to meet and get autographs from Eagles running back Wendell Smallwood, who played football for Red Lion Christian School, on Tuesday, after he spoke about making good choices. Jennifer Corbett, The News Journal

A student at George Read Middle School gets a chance to meet and get an autograph from Eagles running back Wendell Smallwood, who played football for Red Lion Christian School, on Tuesday, after he spoke about making good choices. Jennifer Corbett, The News Journal

Students at George Read Middle School pose for a photograph with Eagles running back Wendell Smallwood, who played football for Red Lion Christian School, on Tuesday, after he spoke about making good choices. Jennifer Corbett, The News Journal

Eagles running back Wendell Smallwood, who played football for Red Lion Christian School, signs a shirt while a student points out his Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl LII Championship ring at George Read Middle School on Tuesday. Jennifer Corbett, The News Journal

Students at George Read Middle School pose for a photograph with Eagles running back Wendell Smallwood, who played football for Red Lion Christian School, on Tuesday, after he spoke about making good choices. Jennifer Corbett, The News Journal

Students at George Read Middle School got a chance to see the Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl LII Championship ring that Eagles running back Wendell Smallwood worn to their school on Tuesday while speaking about making good choices. Jennifer Corbett, The News Journal

Eagles running back Wendell Smallwood, who played football for Red Lion Christian School, takes a selfie with George Read Middle School's assistant principal Mike Rees on Tuesday after visiting the school to speak about making good choices. Jennifer Corbett, The News Journal

Eagles running back Wendell Smallwood, who played football for Red Lion Christian School, spoke to students ta George Read Middle School on Tuesday about making good choices. Jennifer Corbett, The News Journal